Community Interest
Abby Baer believes art is the key to both our collective past and future
This story is part of our Reach High series sponsored by High Foundation.
If you were to ask Abby Baer when she first thought about working for a museum, she would tell you it was during her senior year of college. She was taking an art elective when her professor shared her first museum experience and prompted the class to think about early influences and experiences.
“That’s when I suddenly remembered I actually ran my own gallery as a kid,” Abby reminisced. Abigail’s Art Gallery opened in her childhood bedroom around the time she was in second or third grade, curated from her own original paintings and drawings.
“I would charge my family and friends 25 cents to come in,” she explained. “It was short-lived, but my brother still has the piece he ‘purchased’ from me.”
Looking towards graduation in a few months with an Art History minor, Abby’s art professor then encouraged her to pursue a master’s program in Art Administration, which led her to Goucher College in Maryland.
Her journey to becoming Executive Director of the Demuth Foundation has more serendipitous threads woven throughout—from French impressionism incorporated in her high school language classes to her first art museum visit to the Barnes Museum in Philadelphia to the grad school paper she wrote on Charles Demuth, a longtime friend of Albert Barnes.
Her first museum job was at Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum before she came to Lancaster for the role at the Demuth Foundation.
“Creativity is really part of the fabric of Lancaster, and I love the richness of inspiration here,” she shared.
In her seven years with the Foundation, she’s intentionally grown the team, acquired more of Demuth’s pieces, expanded programming, and advocated for consistent museum hours to better serve visitors.
As a leader, Abby leans into the influence of strong female leaders who have guided her.
“Those leaders weren’t afraid to ask me the hard questions,” she shared. “That’s the kind of approach I take when I’m leading other people.”
The team of nine at the Demuth Foundation operates both the Demuth Museum, which primarily focuses on the works of Lancaster native Charles Demuth, and the Lancaster Museum of Art, which features exhibits from local and regional artists as well as their annual community exhibit.
“I’m passionate about the work we do because I believe art is a visual record of our collective past while serving as an arrow to point us forward too,” Abby added.
Reach High is a series brought to you by High Foundation that introduces business and nonprofit leaders who are thoughtfully innovating with a spirit of servant leadership. Find out more about High Foundation’s mission to be a Bridge to Opportunity for the Lancaster community and beyond at highfoundation.org.
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